


a tale as old as time

by HeartonFire



Category: Beauty and the Beast - All Media Types, Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Beauty and the Beast AU, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fluff, Kastle Fic/Art Exchange, No Smut, Non-Graphic Violence, kastle - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-06-01 05:02:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15135677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeartonFire/pseuds/HeartonFire
Summary: There was a man. Up there in the hills. Or maybe not a man, if you listened to the whispers of the people in town. More like a monster.And who better to find out the truth about the monster in the hills than Karen Page?Beauty and the Beast AU inspired bythis photosetbyc-sand.





	1. whispers in the dark

**Author's Note:**

> Written for @c-sand/@kastlenetwork for the Kastle fic/art exchange. I've never written an AU before, but this was fun! Enjoy!

There was a man. Up there in the hills. Or maybe not a man, if you listened to the whispers of the people in town. More like a monster.

Karen had never really listened to the people in town. Her father had moved them to this little backwoods town after her mother died, and she had always missed the bustle of the city and all the things she could do there.

“There she goes,” Mrs. Bouvier, her neighbor, whispered as she passed by.

“What an odd girl,” another woman hissed. “Such a pity. She’s so beautiful.”

Karen shook back her blonde hair and took a breath. Her father had never cared what they thought of him, and she didn’t care either. Now that she was on her own, she didn’t have the luxury of caring about that kind of thing. Today, she had a different mission.

She pushed open the door to the bookshop with a soft tinkle of bells. Mr. Moreau smiled from over the top of his wire-frame spectacles.

“Back again?” he said kindly.

Karen nodded, running her fingers over the spines of the books that filled the shelves. “Anything new this week?”

Mr. Moreau shook his head. “No. Not much demand around here these days.”

Karen sighed and pulled a familiar volume towards her. “I guess I’ll take this one.”

“Haven’t you read that already?”

“Yes, but I lost my copy. It’s my favorite. Dashing princes, swordfights, and the romance.” She sighed again.

“Just take it if you like it that much,” he said, smiling gently at her.

Karen beamed at him and clutched the book to her chest. She selected another book too, but she insisted on paying for it. Mr. Moreau wasn’t kidding about not having much demand around town.

Books under her arm, she continued up the street to a tiny office. It was more of a closet than anything else, but it was all Foggy could afford. He had been so excited to start his own practice he had bought the first location he could find. Karen hadn’t known him then, but he had told her about it enough times she felt like she had been there. Foggy was the one person who might be able to help her uncover the truth. He was certainly the only person who might even care.

“Bonjour, belle!” he called from behind a pile of papers stacked precipitously on his desk.

“How can you work like that?” she asked, lifting a stack of files out of the way so she could see him.

“Very carefully,” he said, laughing. “What are you doing here?”

“I heard something that I thought was interesting.”

“Heard from whom?” Foggy stood and focused on Karen fully.

“Just overheard from some people,” she said.

Foggy’s eyebrows rose. “Since when does Karen Page listen to gossip?”

“Since this sounded suspicious.”

He folded his arms, eyes narrowed. “What sounded suspicious?”

“About the guy who lives in the castle up the mountain.”

“The one you can barely see the top of from here? That castle has been abandoned for years. The lord or whoever who lived there disappeared after his family died.”

“But how did they die?”

“The plague? Bandits? I don’t know,” Foggy said, scoffing a little. “People die. People leave. And people make up stories.”

“But the things they said about him were so –”

“Crazy?”

Karen nodded.

“That’s because people here love to make up stories to fill their boring lives. You know that. Look at what they used to say about your dad.”

Karen’s eyes filled with tears and she turned away from Foggy for a moment. She wiped at her eyes and swallowed back the sob fighting to escape from her throat.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly from behind her. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“No, it’s okay,” she said, watery smile fixed on her face as she turned back towards him. “It’s just hard sometimes, you know? Knowing that they thought he was crazy, and he never got to prove them wrong.”

“Yeah. You know, there’s nothing wrong with being upset.”

“Thanks, Foggy. Just don’t have time for it today.”

He didn’t look convinced, but Karen moved towards the door before he could say anything else.

“I’ll see you later, right?” he said, studying her carefully.

“Sure.”

The sun was warm on her face while she walked down the street and she sat down on the fountain in the town square to gather her thoughts a bit. She pulled out her favorite book and turned to the first chapter. Sinking into the story, she felt all the tension ebb out of her body. When she looked up, the sun was nearly at the horizon. With a jolt, Karen stood and hurried towards home. She hadn’t meant to stay out so long and the animals needed to be tended.

“Just the lady I wanted to see,” a booming voice said from behind her.

Karen clenched her eyes shut and tried to will him away as she walked faster to get away. The hand grabbing her shoulder a moment later told her it hadn’t worked.

“Billy,” she grumbled.

“What’s a pretty lady like you doing walking alone this time of day?”

“Just going home.” She started walking again, hoping he would get the message. Once again, she was disappointed.

“Maybe you could use some company.”

“I don’t think so.”

“It’s not safe,” he said smugly.

“It’s not far,” she spat back.

“Still, I’d feel better knowing you got home safely.”

Karen grumbled her displeasure, but Billy fell into step beside her as though he hadn’t heard a thing.

“You know, I’ve heard some people saying you and I should be married.”

“What people?” Karen said, glancing up at his pretty face out of the corner of her eye.

“Just people in town.”

“People in town don’t know what they’re talking about.”

“But it’s an idea, wouldn’t you say?”

“No, I wouldn’t say.” Karen could see her house in the distance and started walking faster. Maybe once she got home, Billy would leave her alone. She doubted it.

“Just imagine it,” he said, taking her arm and pulling her to a stop. Karen strained against him, but he was too strong for her to break free. “You, me, a handful of strapping young boys. We go out hunting and you have dinner waiting for us when we come in.”

“What a dream,” Karen said, finally wrenching her arm away from his grasp.

“I knew you’d see it my way. Without your father around, you need someone to look after you.”

Karen raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

“It is. So tomorrow, I will return to you with a minister and we can get started on our new life together.”

“Great.”

He bowed, kissed her hand, and bounded off down the road, whistling a cheery song. Karen stared after him, fighting the urge to vomit.

She finally made it home, but after a lonely dinner by the fire, her mind wandered to the man who might or might not live in the castle in the mountains. Maybe Foggy was right, but the itch under her skin wasn’t going to go away until she checked it out for herself. Something strange had happened there, she was sure of it. It couldn’t be more than a day’s ride.

She decided, then and there, that she would ride out the next morning. If that meant she missed Billy, so much the better.

* * *

Karen woke to a gray dawn and gathered her things, packing them into saddlebags and leaving a note for Foggy to care for the animals if she wasn’t back by nightfall. She wasn’t especially fond of the idea of staying out in the woods overnight, especially after wolves had attacked her father on his last trip to the city. He had survived the attack, but it had shaken him so thoroughly he hadn’t left town afterwards. There was nothing else for it, though. She was going to find out what was going on in that castle if it killed her.

Her plowhorse wasn’t exactly built for speed, but he plodded through the trees steadily, and the towers of the castle loomed taller and taller as they approached it. It was raining and the water made her cloak feel like an iron sheet pulling her down. She shivered in the icy wind that bit through to her bones and pulled her hood up, though it didn’t do much against the raging weather. Maybe winter wasn’t the best time to go on such an investigative adventure.

“Too late now,” she muttered to herself, clicking her tongue at the horse to pick up the pace a bit, before they lost the light.

Finally, as the sun began to dip below the horizon, a spiked gate appeared before her. Raindrops dripped from the tips of the spikes like tears. Grotesque gargoyles leered down at her from the rooftop and she considered turning around, but the darkening sky and her curiosity about this place wouldn’t allow it. Instead, she squared her shoulders and dismounted.

Leading her horse towards the gate, despite his whinnied protests, she pushed on the metal, expecting it to be locked. To her surprise, it opened with a shrieking groan and she stepped through. The horse refused to go any further, so she tied him to the fence on the inside and continued on alone.

Karen didn’t scare easily, but it felt like hundreds of pairs of eyes were watching her from the countless windows as she approached the elaborately carved front door. It too creaked open at her touch, revealing a dark, dusty hallway that echoed with every step she took.

A hiss of a whisper made the hairs on Karen’s arms stand on end and she peered into a room with a crackling fire. With a sigh of relief, she moved towards it, pulling off her heavy cloak to let the waves of heat wash over her. She sank into a plush armchair and looked around. Shivers still shook her body, but she saw lavish wall hangings and an impressive array of leather-bound books her hands itched to touch. The fireplace itself was made of dark wood and stone, but the wood was mangled, as though a wild animal had torn at it with claws and teeth. All the stories Karen had heard about the owner of this castle ran through her mind and she shivered again, though she was rapidly warming up beside the fire.

She heard the scuff of a footstep behind her and whirled around to see two people standing in the doorway. She clutched her cloak to her chest and stood, backing up towards the fireplace.

“I’m sorry for intruding,” she blurted, eyes wide.

“No intrusion at all,” the taller man said, bowing to her. “You are most welcome here, miss.”

His companion glanced at him and cleared his throat. “But you need to leave.”

Karen blinked at the pair of them. “Oh.”

“You shouldn’t have come here,” the skinny man with wild hair said. “We don’t exactly take visitors anymore.”

“Nonsense,” the other man said. “I’m Curtis, and you shouldn’t listen to David. We’re very happy you’re here.”

David rolled his eyes. “Yeah, very happy. But after this lovely visit, it’s time to go.”

“In this storm?” Curtis said. “Nonsense.”

“He won’t be happy about this,” David whispered, eyes darting between Karen and the door.

“He’s not happy about anything these days. Who knows? Maybe some company besides us will help.”

Curtis extended an arm to Karen and she took it cautiously. “Where are we going?”

“You need dry clothes and some food. You must be hungry.”

She shook her head, but her stomach growled and Curtis smiled. “I thought so. Follow me.”

He waved David off and led Karen up a sweeping stone staircase to the second floor. There were too many doors to count, but he seemed to know exactly where he was going, opening just one room and showing her inside.

Much like the room downstairs, the walls were hung with elaborate tapestries and fine paintings, and all the furniture was gilded and carved. This room was in pristine condition, however, aside from a few cobwebs on the chandelier. Whatever had damaged the fireplace downstairs hadn’t touched this room. Curtis opened the wardrobe, which was filled with dresses in every color and fabric Karen could imagine.

“Take what you need. I’ll be right outside.”

The door closed with a soft click and Karen stared at the options before her. Even before her father’s accident, being an inventor’s daughter didn’t exactly lend itself to lavish clothing and fancy dresses. Karen had never thought much about it, but faced with such luxury, she wondered about the people who lived here. Or who had once lived here. If the stories were true, the prince’s wife and children had died in an attack or an accident or something. If there were people still here, like Curtis and David, that had to mean the man himself was here somewhere, right? Maybe it was just like with her father and people made up unfair stories to amuse themselves at someone else’s expense. The only way to find out was to find him.

“You okay in there?” Curtis called, and Karen grabbed the first dress she saw, a light blue satin gown that slid against her skin like water. It was simpler than some of the others, but the color was pretty and she was in a hurry.

“Give me those,” Curtis said, when she opened the door again. “And come with me. David should have had plenty of time to tell the kitchen to make something for you.”

Before they made it down the stairs, though, a roar vibrated through the castle. Karen felt it in every muscle of her body and froze. Curtis glanced at her and tried to smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Don’t worry. We’ll smooth this over.”

Karen didn’t have time to ask what needed to be smoothed over, as David came racing around a corner, panting with the effort.

“He knows.”

“I figured.”

“He’s coming. He saw her horse outside.”

“Figured that too.”

“Aren’t you going to hide her?”

“No.”

Karen felt like she was watching a tennis match, eyes bouncing from one man to the other as they talked about her like she wasn’t there.  
“How bad can it be?” she said quietly and both Curtis and David stared at her.

Her question was answered as someone, or something, came crashing through the hallways towards them.


	2. barely even friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's not easy, exactly. But Karen Page has never been one to give up on a challenge. She's going to figure out how to help Frank Castle and break the curse if it kills her. All she has to do is get him to open up to her after years of shutting himself away. Easy, right?

Later, as she lay on her bed staring at the ceiling, Karen would go over and over her first meeting with the prince. He was tall and broad, towering over all three of them, and he certainly looked every bit the monster everyone said he was. He growled at the sight of her, but Karen couldn’t tear her gaze away from his eyes. Deep and brown, they were filled with a sorrow and regret that made her heart throb in pain. She reached for him, hoping to ease some of his suffering, but he shrank away from her.

“What do you want?” he snarled. “Come to see the beast?”

Karen shook her head. “No.”

“Then why are you here?”

“I…I don’t know.” She took a step towards him. “But I’d like to figure it out.”

He started to say something else, but he stopped, eyes narrowing. “Where did you get that dress?” he said, so quietly she had to strain to hear him.  
“Upstairs,” she said back, stepping away as he advanced on her.

“And who told you it was yours to take?”

“She’s just borrowing it while her clothes dry,” Curtis offered quickly. The prince glared at him so hard he stumbled backwards.

“That dress is not for you,” he rumbled, and he seemed to grow larger in front of Karen’s eyes. “Take it off!”

“Okay, I’m sorry!” Karen cried, tripping on the stair behind her and falling to the ground. The prince loomed over her, eyes stormy with fury. “I’ll go. Just please, don’t hurt me.”

His face softened a fraction, but Karen didn’t wait to see what he would do next. She threw herself up the stairs and slammed the door behind her, locking it firmly. Shaking, she sank down onto the bed and tried to take some deep breaths to slow her pounding heart. She pulled the dress over her head and grabbed a simpler one from the wardrobe, hoping that would be acceptable for the time being. Curtis had taken her clothes to dry them, so this would have to do.

When she was finally able to calm down, she crept to the door and listened. She couldn’t hear anyone in the hallway, and her hunger was really starting to gnaw at her. She opened the door a crack and peeked out. Seeing no one, she crept towards the staircase and tiptoed down, making as little noise as possible.

She was just turning a corner when she bumped into someone. Heart racing, she stepped back, but let out a long breath of relief when she saw it was just Curtis.

“Are you okay?” he asked, studying her face.

“Just hungry,” she said.

He smiled and jerked his head down the hallway. “Come with me.”

Karen followed him to a massive dining room, where he pulled out a seat for her and held up a hand for her to wait for him. She did, flinching at every creak she heard. When she thought he was never coming back, he threw open the doors to a bright kitchen and wheeled out tray after tray of delicious-smelling food.

“David’s wife Sarah is the cook and she’s amazing. Try whatever you like.”

Karen was overwhelmed with options, but by the time she was finished, she wasn’t sure she would ever need to eat again. Curtis waited until she was finished and started leading her back up to her room. Before they turned towards that side of the stairs, Karen stopped.

“What’s on that side?” she asked, pointing to the dark hallway to her left. Curtis’ smile faltered.

“Don’t go on that side,” he said quietly. “There’s nothing you need to see there.”

Karen nodded, but her skin prickled and she stared at the dark space until she had to go back into her room. What was he hiding? Why wouldn’t he want her to go in there?

The question wasn’t answered for days. Curtis and David kept her a very close eye on her, showing her different rooms in the house and trying to keep her occupied when she wasn’t locked in her bedroom for the night. The question of that mysterious wing loomed like a shadow over them, though, and try as they might, they were never going to convince Karen that she didn’t need to find out what was over there. She didn’t see the prince again. She didn’t even know why she stayed. He clearly didn’t want her there, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she needed to figure this thing out. Figure him out, and help him get through the pain that emanated off him with every word.

Finally, her opportunity to do some investigating presented itself. Curtis and David had just left her, bickering over how best to convince the prince to eat dinner with her, since he was eating soon anyway. They didn’t lock her door. Once she heard their voices disappearing down the hallway, Karen crept out and hurried across the staircase to enter the forbidden area.

It looked much the same as her side of the castle, but everything was clawed to pieces. Wallpaper hung in tatters, several doors looked to be torn in half, and every painting was torn into ribbons. Paintings of a family, paintings of children. All torn to bits. Karen knew who had caused the damage, but she felt that now-familiar pang of pain and sadness that accompanied thoughts of the prince and all he had lost.

She chose a door and pulled it open, knowing time was limited before the prince came back. She felt drawn to this particular door and when she walked into the room, she saw why.

A single, perfect rose stood inside a bell jar. Despite the lack of light in the room, it seemed to glow. She moved towards it like a moth to a flame, fingertips just brushing the glass.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” a voice roared from behind her. Karen was so startled she knocked the glass off its pedestal.

The prince lunged for it and slammed it back down, whirling to face her.

“What are you doing here?”

“Why are you hiding this? It’s so beautiful.”

“It has nothing to do with you,” he snarled, hand still curled protectively over it.

“And those paintings of your family? Why would you destroy them?”

“My family was destroyed. Because of me.”

“But don’t you want to remember them?”

He chuckled coldly. “You think I need a painting to remember them? As though they don’t live and die over and over in my head every day?”

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “But don’t you think they would want you to have a life again?”

He blinked at her. “What?”

“Your family wouldn’t want you to shut yourself away like this.”  
“You know nothing of my family or what happened to them.” His voice was low and dangerous, but Karen couldn’t let it go.

“No, I don’t, but I can’t imagine this is the life they would want for you. I want to help you.”

“Get out,” he growled.

“Okay, I’m going.” Karen lifted her hands in surrender.

“No. Get out of this castle. You shouldn’t be here.”

When Karen didn’t immediately comply, he moved towards her. “GET OUT!”

Eyes wide, she backed out of the room and ran down the stairs. She heard Curtis saying something to the prince, but she didn’t take the time to turn and wave goodbye. She stumbled out to the stables and threw herself onto her horse’s back, squeezing her legs around him so hard that he jolted forward in surprise.

She didn’t look back as the castle vanished behind her.

* * *

It was already dark when she rode out into the woods, but Karen pressed on, digging her heels into the horse’s sides. Branches whipped past her face with the wind that bit into her exposed skin. She had left in such a hurry she had forgotten a cloak, and the chill air froze her to her core.

She squinted through the trees, pale moonlight filtering through the trees too dimly to see the path with any clarity. She tugged on the reins and the horse slowed, picking its way through increasingly tangled tree roots. Staring around, Karen wondered if she was even going in the right direction. In her rush to leave the castle, she had just started riding, without considering the how to get back to town, and in the dark, it was hard to tell where the path was going to take her.

Before she could consider her options, whatever they might be, a low howl made all the hair on her arms stand on end. It was joined by another, then another, until the air was filled with a chorus of howling wolves. The horse whinnied and edged off the path, but Karen urged him forward. She needed to put as much room between them and the wolves as she could.

Her horse just wasn’t cooperating, though, and soon, Karen heard branches breaking and rumbling growls all around them. The horse screamed its terror and reared, tossing Karen from his back. She landed with a thud and winced at the pain that shot through her right hip. Her horse bolted through the trees and vanished, leaving her alone to face the circling wolves that were rapidly closing in around her.

She pushed herself back towards a tree trunk and grabbed at the earth around her to find something, anything, to hold them back. Her fingers grasped a branch and she held it in front of her like a sword. Her hands shook with adrenaline and fear, but she held it as hard as she could. All she could see was teeth, as the wolves crept closer.

Finally, one leapt at her. She swung the branch and hit the wolf across the face. It fell to the side, whimpering, but the branch broke where it hit, leaving her with only a few feet to fight with. She struggled to her feet and swung it at the other wolves, who just snapped their teeth and lunged towards her, tightening the circle around her.

The next one jumped towards her and Karen closed her eyes, sure she was about to feel teeth and claws tearing her apart. When she heard a rumbling roar instead, her eyes flew open and she saw a massive figure tossing wolves to the side as though they were little more than ragdolls.

Karen blinked, wondering if she was hallucinating, or if the prince had really come after her. His massive jaws and sharp claws tore through the pack of wolves, but they were getting in some bites and scratches too. His blood dripped onto the pale snow and spread like a puddle of spilled juice.

Finally, the remaining wolves slunk away, tails between their legs, leaving their packmates’ bodies where they lay, lifeless on the ground. The prince looked at Karen for a moment, chest heaving as he fought to catch his breath. His eyes were tired, but Karen felt like he was seeing right through her. It was only for a moment, as he fell to his hands and knees, coughing blood. Karen hurried to his side, laying a hand on his shoulder.

“We have to get you back to the castle,” she murmured, and he nodded, even as he coughed more blood onto the snow. He heaved himself to his feet and they hobbled back. He leaned heavily on Karen, and she wasn’t sure how long she could hold him upright, but soon enough, the wrought-iron gates loomed ahead of them and she managed to get him inside and into a chair.

Curtis and David tried to clean his wounds and get him to eat something, but he waved them away with a roar every time they touched him. Karen, huddled by the fire, pushed off the blanket they had wrapped around her and approached, taking the cloth and warm water Curtis was holding. She sank to her knees and took the prince’s arm gently. He hissed and pulled his arm away when she touched the cloth to his skin.

“We have to clean the cuts,” Karen said, taking his arm more firmly and dabbing at the wounds.

“Then let me do it myself,” he grumbled.

“Please, let me help you.” Karen looked up at him and was startled to see the look in his eyes. If she didn’t know better, she’d have said it was fear.

He grumbled again, but let her clean and bandage him. She smoothed the bandages gently and sat back on her heels.

“Thank you,” he mumbled, avoiding her eyes.

“Thank you for saving my life,” she said, squeezing his hand. “Why did you come after me?”

“I had to,” he said, still not meeting her eyes. “I couldn’t let you get hurt.”

Karen stared at him. “What?”

Curtis cleared his throat and the prince sighed. “You were safe.”

“What?”

“Before. I wouldn’t hurt you. You were safe. I shouldn’t have sent you away. I just need you to know you were safe.”

“Okay,” she said quietly. She stood and backed towards the fireplace, hoping to stop the shivers that had started again. Something had changed. Something between them was different than it had been before. Instead of the raging, angry monster he had been every time she had seen him before, this man was quiet, almost soft in the way he spoke. He even looked smaller, sitting there in the chair with his arm bandaged and his hand enveloping hers.

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

Karen shrugged. “A little.”

“Then we’ll have dinner.” Curtis and David hurried out, and she heard them bickering down the hall about what to serve and who was responsible for getting all this to happen. Karen wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, but there was obviously more to this whole situation than they were telling her. “I’ll go,” he said, with a little cough. “I’ll go get cleaned up.”

“Okay. Me too.”

She found her way back to her room and sat down on the bed. It felt like she had been gone for days, even though it had only been a few hours since she had last been there. She pulled out a pretty pink dress and brushed her hair until it shone. Her heart fluttered a little, but she shook her head. There was no reason for that. They were just going to eat. They needed to eat, after everything that had happened. That was all.

She kept repeating it in her mind as she went back downstairs. She thought she remembered her way to the dining room, but she ended up staring at a pair of doors for several minutes, trying to decide which way to go.

“Lost?” a rumbling voice said behind her. She turned and saw the prince, in clean and unripped clothes, with his hair brushed back from his face. She could see his face fully now, and she was seized with a wild urge to touch him, to make sure it was really him. His eyes were gentle as he looked at her, and he held out an arm to guide her to the right place. His warmth spread through her from her fingertips to her toes and she felt like she was floating towards the dining room.

He pulled out her chair and sat across from her. The table was so big, it felt like he might as well be in a separate room, but his deep brown eyes kept her from losing herself in her thoughts.

Curtis and David brought out trays of food and Karen felt her stomach clench at the delicious smells wafting out from under the silver lids. She took a delicate bite of a potato dish, but as she chewed it, she looked up to see the prince devouring a whole chicken. He held it in his hands and bits of meat splattered the white tablecloth and fell to the floor. Karen let her fork fall to the plate with a clatter and tried not to stare. When he was finished, the prince tossed the carcass over his shoulder.

He finally noticed Karen looking at him and blinked. “What?”

“Nothing,” she said, pushing her plate away. “I’m just not very hungry after all.”

“Fine,” he said, pulling another dish towards him. “Then I will see you in the morning.”

As Curtis led Karen back to her room, with assurances that he could send something up to her later, she heard David hissing at the prince.

“You can’t eat like that! No wonder she lost her appetite. Have you forgotten _everything_ you knew before? Or just the things that will help you make a good impression?”

She couldn’t hear what the prince said in response, but the growl of his voice told her everything she needed to know. She smiled, and the grin didn’t leave her face until after she fell asleep.

* * *

Karen woke to the sound of soft tapping on her door. She pulled on a robe and opened the door a crack. The prince stood outside, staring at his shoes.

“Breakfast?” he mumbled. His brown eyes shot up to meet hers and she blinked at him, mouth open for a moment. “That’s fine,” he said hurriedly. “I understand. Forgive me for disturbing you.”

He was halfway down the hallway before Karen could even formulate words. “You didn’t.” He stilled. “You didn’t disturb me. I would like some breakfast.”

A genuine smile broke across his face and she wondered what he had looked like before. When he was just a prince. When his family was alive. When the weight of their loss didn’t lay so heavily across his face.

“I’ll just get dressed.”

“No need. You’re perfect. As you are.” His gaze fell back to his shoes, as though they had become the most interesting thing he had ever seen.

“Okay.” Karen stepped into the hallway and took his arm. Instead of taking her to the dining room, he led her to a small room off the kitchen, where a table had been laid with plates of eggs and bacon and every breakfast food she could think of.

“I wasn’t sure what you liked,” he muttered as he pulled out her chair.

“This looks great.” Karen smiled up at him and waited for him to sit before she began loading her plate with a little bit of everything.

He waited for her to take what she wanted before serving himself, and she was surprised to see him take up a knife and fork. They looked a bit awkward in his large hands, but she stifled her grin when he caught her looking.

“I’m sorry about dinner.”

“What do you mean?” Karen took a bite of fluffy scrambled eggs and closed her eyes. They were perfect. If she didn’t know better, she’d think she was dreaming.

“As David pointed out,” he said, through gritted teeth. “I should have behaved better.”

“It’s okay,” Karen said, but he shook his head.

“No, it’s not. You’re a lady, and you should be treated like one.”

Karen didn’t know what to say to that, so she just kept eating. When she couldn’t put one more forkful to her mouth, she pushed her plate away and sank back into her chair.

“Can I show you something?” the prince asked, holding out a hand to her.

Karen took it and followed him cautiously. If there was one thing she knew about him from her time in the castle, it was that he was a very private person. What could he possibly want her to see?

He finally stopped outside an ornate door and paused, taking her other hand. “You like to read?” It was a question, but at the same time, it wasn’t. Karen nodded, not sure how he could know that, and he pushed the door open.

Karen’s mouth fell open for the second time that morning at what she saw on the other side. It was more than a library, it was a palace of books. Gilded spiral staircases wound between floors filled with volumes bound in every color. Karen stepped into the middle of the room and spun slowly around. If she read one every day for the rest of her life, she might never finish reading them all.

“You like it?” the prince asked, avoiding her eyes again.

“Yes,” Karen breathed, and threw her arms around him. She didn’t even think about it. She was so happy and so relieved to be alive and to be here, in this room. He stiffened in her embrace, but after a moment, his arms found their way around her, enveloping her in his warmth. When they finally pulled away, Karen took his hand and led him over to the nearest bookcase.

“What’s your favorite book?” she said, peering at the titles. Some of them, she had never heard of. Others, she knew like her own history.

“Don’t have one,” he muttered. “Don’t read much.”

Karen raised an eyebrow. “You can’t be serious.”

“What do you mean?”

“You have all these books and you don’t read?”

He smiled and sighed. “Fine. I guess you caught me. My favorite’s _Moby Dick_.”

“I’ve never read that one.”

He pulled it off a high shelf and handed it to her. “All yours.”

Karen sat in one of the deliciously plush armchairs and dove into the story of mad Captain Ahab and his wild pursuit of the white whale. Every time she looked up from the page, the prince’s brown eyes were staring at her, watching her reactions. She tried not to let it distract her, but she found herself rereading several pages when she realized she hadn’t actually understood a word.

“What do you think so far?” he asked, when she set the book aside and stretched her arms over her head, joints cracking a bit as she moved.

“I think I see why it’s your favorite.”

“Oh? And why’s that?”

“A man’s self-destructive quest to avenge the deaths of people he cares about? That sounds familiar.”

The prince cleared his throat. “Why do you say that?”

“You may not have told me much about them, but I can see that your family’s deaths haunt you. And I’m pretty sure if you had a chance to take out whoever hurt them, you would take it.”

“You may be right about that,” he said quietly.

“What happened?” Karen asked, the words slipping out before she could stop them.

The prince swallowed and his brown eyes bored straight through her. “A warlock came here, after I came back from the war. I wasn’t interested in what he wanted and I tried to turn him away, but he managed to curse this place before he disappeared.” He waved at his own body and shuddered.

One of Karen’s hands flew up to cover her mouth. “That’s terrible,” she said quietly. “Isn’t there anything you can do to break the curse?”

He stood and started pacing back and forth in front of one of the tall windows. “No.” He turned to leave, but Karen had one more question before he disappeared again.

“What was your name?” He looked over his shoulder at her. “What _is_ your name?”

“Frank. Frank Castle.”

* * *

Karen didn’t see Frank for days after that. She tried to focus on finishing the book, but every time she started reading, she saw the hurt in his eyes and the pain behind them. There had to be a way to break the curse. There just had to be.

She put _Moby Dick_ to the side and began browsing the shelves for anything related to witchcraft or curses. She wasn’t surprised, exactly, but she was disappointed, when she finished looking over the last shelf and found nothing of interest. If Frank was that reticent to talk about what had happened, she had to imagine he wouldn’t want to read about it either.

She was about to give up for the day, when she heard voices echoing down the hallway. She hid out of sight of the doorway and strained to hear what they were saying.

“He’s going about this all wrong,” she heard David say.

“We have to let him do this his own way,” Curtis replied.

“Even if it means we’re stuck here forever?” David scoffed. “I don’t want to be stuck here forever. Sarah certainly doesn’t want to be stuck here forever.”

“Hey, I don’t want that either. But we can’t force it.”

“The rose is down to its last few petals. He can’t keep hiding from her like this.”

“You know how he is. He needs time.”

“Which we’re rapidly running out of.”

“This is the closest he’s been since Maria died. Give him a little space. He’ll figure it out.” Karen heard what sounded like a hand being clapped on a shoulder. “Or, we’re all stuck here.”

“Great,” David grumbled.

Karen heard their footsteps growing fainter and fainter as she sat in the chair closest to the door. Her head was spinning. That rose she had seen meant something. Now, all she had to do was find out what. She didn’t know how she would get back up to that room, but she had to try.

Her opportunity presented itself when the prince, when _Frank_ , announced he was going out hunting for the day. She hadn’t known he hunted, but this was her perfect chance to find out what was going on here once and for all.

It was going to be the perfect chance, that is, until she got waylaid by Sarah, David’s wife and the cook of all the amazing meals she had been eating for weeks. She had only seen glimpses of her, through the kitchen doors, but with the men out of the castle, Sarah apparently saw a chance to get to know her better.

“Wine?” she asked, after showing Karen through the swinging doors of the kitchen. Karen shrugged, and Sarah poured a rather large glass. She pushed it across the table at her and nodded. “So?”

“So, what?” Karen asked, taking a sip. It was sweet, and pinker than any wine she had seen before, but it tasted good.

“So, why are you still here?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re free to go any time you want, but you’re still here. Why?”

“I don’t know,” Karen said quietly. “I want to know him.”

Sarah studied her over the rim of her wine glass. “He’s not an easy man to know.”

“I can see that.”

“But he’s a good man, really. It would be much harder to stay here so long if he wasn’t.”

“How did you end up here?” Karen asked.

“Frank met David during the war, and he asked us to come back with him when he came home. Said he had plenty of space and Maria would love the company. Of course, just after we got here, everything went sideways.”

“And Curtis?”

“He was here before we were. He got injured and sent back here to recover, on Frank’s request.”

“How does the curse work? He told me a little about what happened, but I can’t believe there’s no way to reverse it.” Karen leaned closer, setting her glass on the table.

Sarah shook her head. “That’s not really my story to tell.”

“Of course. I’m sorry.”

“He’ll tell you. When he’s ready.” Sarah smiled. “Now, for the more interesting story. How did you end up here?”

They ended up talking for hours about Karen’s dad and Foggy and the kids Sarah hoped to have with David and they ended up eating so much cake and cookies that Karen thought her seams might burst. Four bottles of wine later, they were giggling and nearly falling out of their chairs when the men returned.

“Oh no,” David said, hands on his hips. “I told you.” He looked at Frank and Curtis. “I told you it wasn’t safe to leave these two alone.”

“They’re doing fine,” Curtis said, smile playing at his lips as he looked at the pair of them.

Karen’s eyes were drawn to Frank, who looked more relaxed than she had ever seen him. His dark gaze met hers and she felt a shiver race through her body.

“Maybe we’ve had enough,” Sarah mumbled, gathering the bottles, or trying to. One dropped to the floor, where it rolled towards Frank. He bent to pick it up and passed it gently to Karen when she held out a hand for it. Her fingertips brushed his and another shiver shot through her. She was lucky she didn’t drop the bottle again.

“I think I’m going to go lie down,” she mumbled, stumbling as she stood to leave the room. Frank’s hand shot out to steady her and she looked up at him, startled. “Thanks.”

“You alright?”

“Yeah, sure,” she said, dragging her hand away from his and walking as steadily as she could manage towards the door. Her skin tingled all the way up the stairs and it was all she could focus on, even as the room spun around her.

* * *

Karen woke in the morning to a light knock on the door. Groaning, she stood and hobbled to the door, only managing to pull on one sleeve of her robe before she made it to the doorway. She peeked out and saw Frank standing there, a tray in his hands loaded with eggs and coffee and bacon. A small vase filled with white roses stood beside a full glass of orange juice. The smell was heavenly and she threw the door the rest of the way open.

“Thank you,” she said, taking the tray from his hands and bringing it back to her disheveled bed. She tore into the bacon and gulped down some coffee and instantly felt better.

Frank leaned against the doorway, staring at her with a wry smirk on his face.

“What?” Karen said, half a slice of bacon dangling from her fingers.

“Nothing,” he said, chuckling to himself. “Just figured you’d be hurting today.”

Karen mumbled her agreement through another mouthful of eggs. “Thank you.”

“Feel up to going for a walk later?”

“Uh, sure,” Karen said.

“I’ll meet you in the library.”

He vanished, but Karen kept staring at the space where he had been. Something had changed. Maybe today would finally be the day she found out how she could help him.

She found him in the study, poring over a book of maps she had noticed but never picked up. She crept up beside him and saw that he was looking at the distance between the castle and her town.

“Feel better?” he asked, when he felt her beside him. He snapped the book closed and pushed it back onto the shelf. He was trying to act casual, but she saw his eyes shifting as he moved.

“Want to take that walk?” she said, taking his arm.

He led her outside, where winter was just edging towards spring. The first buds were emerging on the tree branches and a few shoots were pushing up from the ground. With most of the snow melted, Karen could see the elaborate plant beds and fountains that made up the grounds around the castle. They seemed to stretch out for miles in front of her eyes and she smiled.

“How was the hunt?”

Frank grunted and shrugged. “Fine. Haven’t hunted in a long time, but we found a few rabbits.”

“Any reason you wanted to hunt yesterday?”

He shrugged again. “Just wanted to get out for a bit.”

Karen nodded. “I understand that. Do you get out often?” She already knew the answer, but she was just hoping he would keep talking.

“Not as often as I should.” They walked under a massive willow tree and Frank sat on a stone bench beneath the curving branches. Karen sat beside him, soaking in the light filtering through the young leaves. When she looked back at Frank, he was staring at her with the strangest look on his face, like she was the only thing he could see.

He shook his head when he saw her looking back at him and shuffled his feet through the dry leaves on the ground. They whispered against each other and Karen nudged him with her shoulder.

“Why did you bring me out here?”

“What do you mean?” He looked at her from out of the corner of his eyes.

“This is a lovely place. Why did you bring me here?”

“I thought you would like it.” He paused. “My wife used to love this tree.”

Karen’s knuckles tightened on the stone of the bench and she bit her lip.

“My little girl liked it too. She’d come out here and lie on this bench to read all day.”

“And your son?”

Frank huffed out a laugh. “He didn’t have much use for trees or benches or books. He wanted to run through the woods and go hunting with me or Curtis.”

“What happened to them?” His head fell until Karen couldn’t see his face at all. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. You told me before.”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “No, it’s okay.” He swallowed. “I didn’t tell all of it. I came back from the war. Wanted to spend time with my family. With Curtis. David and Sarah.”

“So, what happened?”

“Wasn’t long before someone showed up at the door. This man I had never seen before. He insisted on coming in. Talking to Maria. Meeting the kids. I tried to get him out, but once everyone was in the hall, he let loose. Some kind of curse. Killed all of them. Trapped my friends here with me. Turned me into this.” He stood and strode away from her, letting one hand trail through the branches of the tree.

“Isn’t there any way to break it?”

“No.” He turned to look at her, pain emanating from his eyes. “I already told you. There’s nothing. Nothing any of us can do.”

“What about that rose?” she asked quietly.

His eyes flashed. “What about it?”

“It’s obviously special to you. Why?” She stepped closer to him, until she was near enough to touch him.

“Reminds me of Maria. She never liked roses.” He cleared his throat. “Come on, it’s getting cold.”

“Wait,” Karen said, laying a hand on his arm. “Please. Let me in.”

Frank raised his eyes to hers and Karen’s heart broke at the look in his deep brown eyes.

“Tell me about your family.”

He cleared his throat, but didn’t move away. “They were better off without me,” he mumbled, almost too quiet for her to hear it.

“What do you mean?”

“As soon as I got back, they were taken away from me.”

“Tell me about _them_ ,” Karen insisted, fingertips tightening on his skin.

He shook his head. “It’s hard for me to talk about them.” He laid his hand over hers.

“What was your favorite thing to do with your kids?”

A gentle smile broke the pain on his face. “Play ball with my boy.” He laughed a little. “I always liked having tea parties with my little girl. She was getting a little old for it, but Lisa would always have a tea party with me when I came home.”  
“That’s sweet. My dad preferred tinkering in his workshop with me, but a tea party sounds nice. I bet she loved having that time with you.”

Frank nodded. “She was an angel.” Tears welled in the corners of his eyes and he sniffed, looking up at the branches above them.

“And Maria?”

His hand tensed in hers and he shook his head. “What is there to say? She knew me. She understood me. She saw me and didn’t run away.”

Karen swallowed. “Who’s running?”

Frank’s eyes fell to meet hers and there was something there she had never seen before. His eyes grew softer, warmer, until she could see the man he had been before. The man he still was, under the monstrous exterior. He moved almost imperceptibly closer to her, until she could feel the heat of his body radiating out to meet hers. Karen bit her lip and her eyes fluttered closed.

But then Frank pulled away. Karen stumbled back, blinking fast at the sudden rush of cold air. Frank cleared his throat and ran a hand through the wild hair on top of his head.

“Have dinner with me tonight?” he said, looking at her almost shyly.

Karen nodded, before she had even registered what had had said. He nodded back at her and headed for the castle.

She followed, after a moment. She felt almost dizzy, though she couldn’t say why. She sat on the edge of her bed for a long while, thinking over what he had said and what could possibly be going through his head. She wasn’t even sure anymore what was going through hers.

A knock on her door startled Karen out of her reverie. She opened it to find David on the other side, a folded bundle of fabric in his arms.

“For dinner.” David handed her a silky dress and Karen stared at it. It looked like it was made of molten gold and flowed over her hands like water. She put it on and Sarah came in to help her pin up her hair and put on makeup that made her blue eyes look bigger than they already were.

Finally, when she hardly felt like herself, like that crazy inventor’s daughter everyone thought she was, Sarah nudged her towards the door.

She stepped carefully down the sweeping staircase and saw Frank, looking every inch the prince he was, coming down the other side. When he saw her, he stopped for a moment, eyes wide. Karen blushed and looked down at her delicate shoes. They met in the middle and he extended his arm. Karen took it and glided the rest of the way down the stairs.

The table was laid with so many gilded plates, the whole room glittered in the candlelight. Platter after platter came out of the kitchen, but Karen hardly tasted it. She was too focused on the light conversation and heavy eye contact between them to know what she was putting into her mouth. Finally, after the last dish was cleared away, Frank held out a hand.

“Dance with me?”

Karen’s head jerked of its own accord and they glided to a massive ballroom she hadn’t seen before. Hundreds of people could have danced alongside them, but she wasn’t sure she would have noticed even if they had. Frank was strong and led her through an intricate waltz Karen had never danced before. Her feet hardly touched the floor as they spun and twirled across the shining parquet floor.

The patio doors flew open for them and they swirled onto the balcony. The air was crisp, but Frank was warm, his heat seeping through her silky dress. Her heart was racing and she felt like she couldn’t breathe, but she didn’t want to stop. This complicated, difficult man was literally sweeping her off her feet and she didn’t care.

Finally, he brought her to a quiet corner of the balcony and they sat on a bench. He took her hands and Karen felt herself trembling.

“I have something to show you,” he said, pulling something silver out of his pocket. Karen took it and turned it over in her hands.

“A mirror?”

“A mirror that will show you anything you want to see.”

“Anything?”

He nodded and Karen thought for a moment. There was only one person she really wanted to see.

“Show me Foggy.”

The mirror swirled for a moment, before settling on Foggy’s familiar face. He was smiling, talking to someone she couldn’t see. Karen grinned and she looked up to see Frank staring at her, eyes soft.

“What?” she said, blushing under his gaze.

“Nothing.” He shook his head. “Your smile.”

“What about it?” Karen said, tilting her head to the side as she put the mirror down.

“It’s beautiful. You’re beautiful.”

Karen blushed harder, looking down at her hands. Frank grazed a finger under her chin to tilt her head back up to meet his gaze. His brown eyes were burning through her and he leaned closer. Karen could feel his breath on her face and her eyes closed. She breathed in his scent, a woodsy, earthy smell that made her head spin.

Just as she was sure he was going to close the space between them and kiss her, a shout echoed through the mirror that lay on the bench beside them. Karen snatched it up and looked into it, seeing Foggy’s face again, but this time he wasn’t smiling.

He looked worried, even upset, and Karen leaned closer, straining to hear what was happening.

“What did you do with her?” a gruff voice said, and a large hand shot out to grab Foggy by the throat.

“Nothing! I don’t know where she is, I swear!” he cried. “I wish I did.”

“You’ll wish you were dead by the time we’re done with you.” Another familiar face edged into the mirror’s field of vision: Billy.

Karen looked up at Frank, stricken. “I have to go to him.”

Frank frowned, but nodded. “I understand.”

“I’ll come back,” Karen said, squeezing his hand. “I promise.”

His face softened slightly and he released her hands. “I’ll give you my best horse. Take the mirror with you. In case you need it.”

“Thank you.” She kissed his cheek and raced to grab a cloak. Feet flying down the stairs, she burst out towards the stables and threw herself onto the horse Curtis had saddled for her.

It was dark, and the thought of the wolves made her hesitate a bit, but she dug her heels into the horse’s sides and they barreled down the path, knocking tree branches out of the way left and right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I threw in some details that don't exactly go with the Beauty and the Beast time period, but I hope you will indulge me those moments (mostly Moby Dick). The third part should be up either tonight or tomorrow, so look for that to finish the story! Please leave a review if you liked it! Reviews make me very happy. :)


	3. certain as the sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's never as simple as "happily ever after" for Frank and Karen. But Karen's not giving up yet. She can't.

The ride felt like it took hours, but at the same time, no time at all. Soon enough, the lights of her village were ahead, glowing like so many candles in the dark. Karen pushed the horse harder and they skidded to a stop outside Foggy’s office. She could hardly be bothered to tie the horse securely, bursting into the office with a crash.

“Karen!” Foggy said, looking pale.

“Foggy.” Karen ran to him and threw her arms around him.

“Where have you been?” he asked, voice muffled by her shoulder. “I’ve been worried sick!”

“I’m sorry. I just had to know.”

“Know what?”

“Know who lived in that castle in the mountains.”

Foggy sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “And?”

“And, it’s a long story, but it’s not at all what I thought it would be.”

“Well, I hope the story was worth it. Your horse showed up a few days ago and Billy’s been tearing the town apart. He says you’re going to marry him?”

Karen rolled her eyes. “He certainly thinks so.”

“What are you going to do?”

Karen looked down at her hands. “I can’t stay here, Foggy.”

“What?” He took a step back from her. “Where will you go?”

“I have to go back.”

“Back to the castle?”

“Yes.” Karen nodded firmly.

“Why?”

“I made a promise.”

Foggy sighed. “To who?”

“The man who lives there.”

Foggy’s eyebrows shot towards his hairline. “So it’s a man?”

“Sort of.” Karen shook her head. “He doesn’t seem like it at first, but he’s a good man. A hurt man.”

“So, what? You’re going to go back and fix him?”

Karen’s eyes narrowed. “No. I’m going to go back because I care for him and I want to make sure he’s alright.”

“Who?” a booming voice said from the doorway. “Who do you care for?”

“Billy,” Karen said, not even turning around.

“Where have you been, my blushing bride?”

“I would never marry you,” she said, through gritted teeth.

“Excuse me?” He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. “You are engaged. To me.” His shiny teeth looked more like fangs than Frank’s ever had.

“No,” Karen said, pulling her arm out of his grasp. “I am not.”

“You don’t want to be a spinster forever.”

“Maybe I do.”

“No. You said there is someone you care for. Who is he?”

“You don’t know him,” Karen said, backing away as he prowled closer.

“I know everyone, beautiful. Who is he? Is he the one who hid you away all these weeks?”

Karen realized she didn’t actually know how long she had been gone. She wasn’t sure it even mattered. She shrugged. “It’s none of your concern, Billy. You don’t know him. And I’m not staying. I just wanted to make sure Foggy was alright.”

“So, what? Now you just leave again?” he sneered.

Karen squared her shoulders. “Yes, actually.”

“I don’t think so.” He was so close now she could smell the alcohol on his breath. “Tell me his name.” Billy’s voice was low and dangerous.

“I’m going to get the sheriff,” Foggy said, eyes darting between the two of them.

“His name is Frank Castle,” Karen said. Foggy stopped in the doorway and looked back at her. Billy’s eyes flashed wickedly.

“You’re wrong, Karen,” Billy said softly. “I do know him. He’s a monster. And he died a long time ago.”

“No, he didn’t.”

“Can you prove that?”

“He gave me the horse outside. And he gave me this.” She pulled the mirror out of her bag and showed it to Billy. “Show me Frank.”

The mirror swirled until it showed Frank’s face, roaring in agony. Karen dropped the mirror in surprise, but Billy caught it before it fell. His face was a mask, but his eyes traced over Frank’s face with an almost hungry look.  
“I think the sheriff will be very interested in this,” he said quietly. “Go and fetch him.”

“No, I was just,” Foggy started to say.

“Go and fetch him!”

Foggy hurried away and Karen reached for the mirror, but Billy held it out of her reach. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Give it back to me.”

“But the town will be so interested to see exactly what lives in the castle in the mountains. What kind of monster.”

Karen’s heart began to race. “He’s not a monster.”

Billy’s eyebrows rose. “Oh, but he is. Look at him.” He turned the mirror towards her, showing her Frank’s face, contorted in pain. “How do you think he ended up that way?”

“He told me.”

Billy laughed. “Really? He told you everything?”

“Yes.”

“I doubt it,” Billy said, sneer firmly fixed on his face. “Frank Castle was a monster long before he became what he is.”  
“I don’t care. You don’t know him. Not really.”

“And you do?” He laughed again. “Trust me. He’s dangerous and can’t be trusted.”

Karen moved towards the door, but Billy got in the way.

“No, I don’t think it’s safe for you to go on living alone. It’s obviously driving you a bit mad.” Karen stared at him. “So, when the sheriff gets here, I’m going to recommend that you be committed. Maybe your lawyer buddy too. You know, for your own safety and the safety of those around you.”

“What?” Karen felt all the blood drain from her face. “You can’t do that.”

“Well, there is another option.” His smirk widened. “You can marry me.”

Karen felt sick. Her eyes darted around, searching for something, anything to help her out of this situation. All she saw were dusty books and piles of legal papers. She heard Foggy and the sheriff outside and knew she had to make a break for it. She grabbed a fountain pen from the desk and lunged at Billy’s knee. The shout of pain that erupted out of him told her she had hit home. Ignoring the blood seeping onto the floor and staining her fingers, Karen burst out onto the street and threw herself back onto her horse.

As she rode away, she heard Billy screaming, “This monster will eat your children! He’s a danger to us all! Ride with me to kill the beast!”

Digging her heels into the sides of the horse, she rode away, heart pounding with every beat of the horse’s hooves.

* * *

Karen thought of the things she was leaving behind. Her dad’s pocket watch. Her mom’s rose hairpin. There was no time to get them if she was going to keep Frank safe. Once she knew he was alright, that he was alive and going to stay that way, she could come back. Or Foggy could bring her the things that mattered to her. He could have the house, for all she cared. Or sell them, buy a bigger office in a big city and get out of this town.

She was exhausted and the horse was slick with sweat, but she had to get back there. She pressed on, even as her eyes began to close from the rhythm of the horse under her.

They burst through the gate and Karen flew up the steps as fast as her feet would carry her. She threw herself down the East Wing hallway and into the room with the rose. Frank stared at her, eyes wide, one hand on the bell jar containing the rose.

“Karen?” He stepped towards her.

“Frank!” she gasped. “They’re coming for you.”

He scowled. “Who?”

“Everyone.”

He took her hand and led her over to one of the few undamaged chairs in the room. “Tell me what happened.” His eyes roved over her, taking in the tears in her eyes and the blood on her hands.

It all spilled out of her in a rush: Foggy, Billy, the mirror, the sheriff. When she was finished, Frank was staring at a spot on the floor.

“I’m sorry,” Karen said, tears beginning to fall. “I’m so sorry.”

“No,” Frank growled. “You don’t have to be sorry. They do.”

Karen shivered and let him guide her to her room.

“Stay here,” he said, and started to leave. He paused by the door and looked back at her. “You came back,” he said, so quietly Karen almost couldn’t hear him.

“I promised I would.”

A ghost of a smile flashed across his face and he disappeared through the door, closing it behind him. Karen sat on the familiar bed, hands clenched so hard her knuckles were white. She scanned the room for something, anything she could use to help, but all she saw were tapestries and ornate furniture. Groaning in frustration, her eyes finally fell on the fireplace on the opposite wall. Next to the roaring flames stood a rack of heavy iron fire tools. One poker in particular looked sharp. Karen threw herself to her feet and pulled it from the rack. It was a little rusty, but just holding it in her hands made her feel stronger.

And then, she waited. It felt like hours before she heard thundering pounds at the door, voices in the hall. She heard Frank’s roar and her hands clutched the poker harder. Finally, when the crashes and bangs outside the door became too much to bear, she pulled the door open and crept into the corridor.

She followed the sounds of fighting, poker outstretched before her. Following the sounds of the fighting, she turned a corner and saw Billy and Frank, circling each other, surrounded by the unconscious bodies of her fellow villagers.

“You were dead,” Billy said savagely. “You were supposed to be dead.”

“What?” Frank said, stopping in his tracks to stare at the man in front of him.

“Your family died. Didn’t you wonder why that sorcerer came here?”

Frank’s face fell and Karen felt a surge of rage through her body. Billy had said he knew Frank from before. Was he responsible for Frank’s family’s deaths?

“Why?” Frank said, voice rough with grief.

“You knew too much. Isn’t it obvious? No one cared about Maria or the kids. It was you they wanted out of the way.” He spat a glob of bloody saliva onto the floor. “Never send someone else to do something that needs to get done. Isn’t that what you always told us, Frankie?”

Billy was edging closer to Frank as he spoke and Karen saw the wheels turning in Frank’s head. She lunged out of the shadows, poker in hand.

“No!” she screamed, just as Billy raised his knife to plunge it into Frank’s neck. Billy turned, startled, and Frank’s eyes met hers. “No.”

“Karen,” Billy said. “You don’t understand. He’s a monster.”

“I only see one monster here,” she said sharply, forcing herself between them. She could feel Frank’s gaze on the back of her head, but she was focused on Billy for the moment. “You need to go. Go and never come back here.”

“I can’t do that, sweetheart,” he said quietly. “There’s a loose end that needs tying up and you’re standing in the way of that.”

He moved so fast Karen didn’t have time to react, knocking the poker out of her hand and sending it clattering away into a dark corner of the room. His arm closed around her neck and he pulled her against him. Karen wondered idly where Curtis, David, and Sarah were. Why weren’t they helping Frank?

Frank’s eyes flitted between the two of them, fist clenched at his sides.

“Let her go,” he growled.

“You come with me and she can go free. She can even stay here if she likes. I won’t pursue her any further. Look, I’ll even drop my knife. We can fight our last battle with honor.”

Karen shook her head as violently as she could with Billy’s arm around her neck. Frank ignored her, staring at Billy. A sob wrenched itself out of her throat when she saw him give the smallest of nods.

True to his word, Billy let go of Karen and pushed her to the side. She gasped and tried to catch her breath even as she was screaming for Frank not to go with him. It was too late. He was already gone.

Frantically, she wracked her brain to think of what to do. Her mind went back to Curtis, David, and Sarah. They wouldn’t abandon Frank. Not now. Not after everything they had all been through.

That meant they were trapped, somewhere in the castle, and she had to find them if she had any hope of saving Frank from the fate he was already too close to accepting. She started down the corridor, eerie silence filling her ears, until she started to hear a rhythmic thumping from one of the rooms down the hall.

She threw off the bar that was blocking the door and it burst open. David, Curtis, and Sarah nearly fell on top of each other in their scramble to get out.

“Where is he?” Curtis asked, eyes scanning the hallway behind Karen.

“He went with Billy,” she said, tears streaming down her face.

“Billy Russo?” His eyes narrowed. “What is that snake doing here?”

“He came to kill him,” Karen sobbed.

“Where did they go?”

Karen shrugged, but followed Curtis as he ran down the hallway shouting Frank’s name. He charged up the stairs and they ended up at the top of the rose tower, looking down at Frank and Billy at the bottom of a stone staircase as they faced off. Or, as Billy wailed on Frank, who was putting up no defense from where he kneeled.

“Frank!” she screamed, as Billy punched him again and again. “Frank, no!”

He looked up at her, as the rain started to fall, and she couldn’t tell if he was crying, but the pain in his eyes made her heart feel like it was about to burst.

“Goodbye,” he mouthed at her.

“No!” Karen sank to her knees, sobbing hysterically. “No, don’t do this. You have to fight!” She swallowed, pulling herself back to her feet. She hadn’t realized it until this moment, but it was true, and it was the only thing she could think of that would make him change his mind and fight for himself. “I love you! I love you! Please don’t do this!”

Frank blinked at her, before turning his gaze to Billy, whose hand was raised again. He lifted his own hand and caught the fist before it landed. Heaving himself to his feet, he twisted Billy’s arm until Billy let out a yelp of pain. He forced him over to the battlement and pushed his body out over the side.

“You’re going to leave,” he said, over the lashing rain. “And never come back here.”

Karen saw Billy nod, and Frank let go. He turned to face Karen, but as he did so, Billy pulled out a knife from his sleeve and stabbed it into the back of Frank’s leg. He roared in pain and threw Billy off. His body hit the side of the battlement with a crunch and slid down, unmoving.

Karen was moving before she knew what she was doing. She stumbled on the uneven stairs but caught Frank as he fell, easing him to the ground. She cradled his bloody, battered head in her lap and whispered again, “I love you.” She looked up and saw the last petal of the rose fall to the bottom of the bell jar.

As his eyes closed, he began to shimmer with an unearthly light. He rose out of her grasp and into the air and Karen sat back, transfixed, as he transformed. Soon, he was no longer the monster of legend, but just a man. A man with dark hair and a chiseled face. A man who had suffered so much, but kept living. He sank back into her lap and lay there, eyes closed for a moment, before they fluttered open and focused on Karen’s face. His eyes were the same deep pools of brown they had always been.

“You came back,” he said again. He cupped her face with one of his large hands.

“Of course I did,” she said, blushing under his gaze. “I promised I would.” He pulled her down to kiss him, rough cheeks grazing her skin as their lips finally touched. Karen felt sparks racing through all of her nerves. It was like being electrocuted. Frank was the lightning and the thunder, growling with pleasure as his tongue slipped past her lips, tangling with hers. His teeth grazed her bottom lip and she gasped into his mouth.

“I love you,” he mumbled against her, lips pressing into the skin by her ear, down her jaw, onto her neck. “I love you.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And they lived happily ever after...
> 
> Or as happily ever after as Frank and Karen ever can.
> 
> Thank you to everyone for reading this story! I hope you enjoyed it!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed part one of this fic for the fic exchange. Parts two and three will be coming tomorrow. Thanks for reading and please review if you liked it!


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